heroin

her-o-in · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A highly addictive illegal drug derived from morphine, typically appearing as a white or brown powder.

  2. 2.

    (historical) A trademark name for diacetylmorphine when it was legally produced as a medicine.

Related words

See also: addiction, heroine, morphine, opiate
Synonyms: dope, horse, junk, smack

Etymology

From German Heroin, a trademark registered by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in 1898, probably from Latin heros ("hero") because of the drug's initial effect of making users feel heroic or powerful.